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☆ DAVOS 2023: EU's Von der Leyen backs listing Iran's Guards as terrorist group
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday she backed listing Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation to respond to the "trampling" of "fundamental human rights" in the country. Ties between the EU member states and Tehran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive nuclear talks have stalled. The European Union is discussing a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over the crackdown and Iran's supply of weapons to Russia. "We are looking indeed at a new round of sanctions and I would support also listing the Revolutionary Guards. I have heard several ministers asking for that and I think they are right," Von der Leyen said.

☆ Iran and Britain's history of strained relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British-Iranian relations, which have been strained for decades, were back in the spotlight after Iranian authorities executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari for spying, charges he had denied. 1988 - Britain restores full diplomatic relations with Iran. 1994 - Britain accuses Iran of contacts with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, a charge Iran denies but relations worsen. 1999 - Iran says relations between Tehran and Britain have been upgraded to ambassadorial level. The same year, Iran accuses Britain of being behind bombings that killed six people in Iran.

☆ Iran executes British-Iranian national despite UK, U.S. pleas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Iran has executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Saturday, after sentencing the former Iranian deputy defense minister to death on charges of spying for Britain. In the video, Akbari did not confess to involvement in the assassination but said a British agent had asked for information about Fakhrizadeh. Iran's state media often airs purported confessions by suspects in politically charged cases. Reuters could not establish the authenticity of the state media video and audio, or when or where they were recorded. Iran has issued dozens of death sentences as part of the crackdown on the unrest, executing at least four people.

☆ Britain to proscribe Iran's Revolutionary Guard as terror group - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] British Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsJan 2 (Reuters) - Britain will officially declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which has arrested seven people with links to the United Kingdom over anti-government protests, as a terrorist group, the Telegraph reported on Monday, citing sources. The move, which will be announced within weeks, is supported by Britain's security minister, Tom Tugendhat, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the report said. Proscribing Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group would mean that it would become a criminal offence to belong to the group, attend its meetings, and carry its logo in public. The UK Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Telegraph report.

☆ Iran says UK-linked arrests reflect 'destructive role' in protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that the arrests of citizens linked to the United Kingdom showed London's "destructive role" in the recent protests in Iran. "Their role was totally destructive and incited the riots". Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that the seven, including some who held dual nationality, were arrested over anti-government protests that have rocked the country. The British foreign ministry had said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on the reports that British-Iranian dual nationals had been arrested. Kanaani said the files of some of the detainees had been completed, while those of others were still being investigated.

DUBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday he spoke with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan the previous day, the highest-level encounter reported between officials from the rival states since they cut ties in 2016. The Middle East's leading Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran have been on opposing sides of conflicts across the region including in Syria and Yemen. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, tweeting in Arabic, on Wednesday listed his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as one of several foreign ministers with whom he had the chance to hold "friendly talks" on the sidelines of the Jordan conference. "My Saudi counterpart assured me of his country's willingness to continue the dialogue with Iran," Amirabdollahian wrote. The Saudi foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Iran executes second protester after rapid trial as EU plans more sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Iran executed a second detained protester on Monday, its state media reported, after a rapid trial as unrest and anger toward the government continue to boil over around the country. Cranes have been commonly used for public hangings since the early days of the Islamic Republic after its establishment in 1979. Iran has long held what activists and other governments say are sham trials in order to imprison or execute critics of the state. "No lawyer, no due process, tortured confession, sham trial. He was hanged for 'waging war against God.'

[1/6] Commercial vessels, including oil tankers, wait at an anchorage in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey, December 9, 2022. A total of 28 oil tankers are in a queue seeking to leave the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Tribeca shipping agency said on Friday. Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked appropriate insurance letters. A shipping source said four of the tankers waiting to cross the Dardanelles were scheduled to go on Saturday with tug escorts. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.

"Ayan has established business contracts to sell Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to buyers," in China, the United Arab Emirates and Europe, the statement says, adding that he then funneled the proceeds back to the Quds Force. The Treasury action will freeze any U.S. assets of those designated and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran and has looked for ways to increase pressure as efforts to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran have stalled. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions. Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Don Durfee and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But satellite images and photos show the Chinese-owned ship had loaded the oil four months earlier in Venezuela, an OPEC nation in South America under U.S. oil sanctions. Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by U.S. authorities for violating sanctions on Iran, one of Venezuela's closest allies. The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the involvement of the Young Yong or the other vessels identified by Reuters in shipping Venezuela crude. Indonesian authorities said in early November that the Young Yong had run aground off the Riau Islands on Oct. 26. The United States imposed oil trading sanctions on Venezuela in 2019 after calling Maduro's re-election the previous year a sham.

☆ U.S. targets supply of Iranian drones to Russia in new sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States is seeking to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which has reduced cities to rubble and killed or wounded thousands. Russia has procured drones from Iran that have been used to attack cities and power infrastructure in Ukraine. Iranian military entities and industries are already under heavy U.S. sanctions over Tehran's nuclear development program. Iran has acknowledged that it had supplied Moscow with drones but said they were sent before the war in Ukraine. Treasury also targeted Abbas Djuma and Tigran Khristoforovich Srabionov, accusing the two of being involved in the Wagner group's acquisition of Iranian drones to support combat operations in Ukraine.

☆ EU sanctions to target Iran Guards 'inner circle', Germany says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Fresh European Union sanctions will target the "inner circle of power" of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Germany said on Monday as the bloc convened to respond to what it has condemned as Tehran's widespread use of force against peaceful protesters. So far, 336 demonstrators have been killed in the unrest and nearly 15,100 detained, according to the activist HRANA news agency. "New sanctions will target in particular the inner circle of power of the Revolutionary Guards and the structures financing them." EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the decision on talks was up to Ukraine. EU foreign ministers will discuss increasing support for Kyiv during the winter and also touch on a ninth package of sanctions on Russia, though diplomats say no decision is expected yet.

☆ France's Macron leaves door ajar to proscribe Iran's Guards as more sanctions come
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday more targeted European Union sanctions on Iranian officials would be adopted and he left the door open to the bloc designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a terrorist organisation. "We are several who are pushing for targeted sanctions especially on pasdaran (IRGC) and people in the regime," Macron told France Inter radio in an interview." When asked whether he would support designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, Macron said as things developed the question needed to be looked at. Reporting by John Irish, Tassilo Hummel, editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ As EU sanctions come, Macron says Iran 'revolution' harms nuclear deal prospects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The grand children of the revolution are carrying out a revolution and are devouring it," Macron said when asked to qualify what was taking place in Iran. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive the nuclear talks, to which France is one of the parties, have stalled. "I don't think there will be new proposals which can be made right now [to save the nuclear deal]", he said. The EU, the United States, Canada and Britain have imposed sanctions on Iran. EU foreign ministers will impose new sanctions on Iran on Monday, diplomats and officials have said.

☆ Iran warns Saudi Arabia 'our strategic patience' may run out - Fars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence minister told its regional rival Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that there is no guarantee of Tehran continuing its "strategic patience," according to semi-official Fars news agency. "Until now, Iran has adopted strategic patience with firm rationality, but it cannot guarantee that it will not run out if hostilities continue," Fars quoted Esmail Khatib as saying. Last month, Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami warned Saudi Arabia Riyadh to control its media outlets. "I am warning the Saudi ruling family.... Watch your behaviour and control these media ... otherwise you will pay the price. Last week Iran denied that it posed a threat to Saudi Arabia after the Wall Street Journal reported that Riyadh had shared intelligence with the United States warning of an imminent attack from Iran on targets in the kingdom.

☆ Up to EU to decide whether to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guard as terrorist organization - Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - It is up to the European Union to decide whether to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, a spokesperson for the German government said on Monday, but declined to go into details on what talks are ongoing. (This story has been corrected to fix the spokesperson's comments that EU will decide whether to sanction Iran's Revolutionary Guard)Reporting by Matthias WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. imposes sanctions on oil smuggling network backing Iran's Quds Force, Hezbollah
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday issued sanctions against an international oil smuggling network it said supports Hezbollah and Iran's Quds Force, targeting dozens of people, companies and tankers as Washington sought to mount pressure on Tehran. The latest U.S. move against Iranian oil smuggling comes as efforts to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal have stalled and ties between the Islamic Republic and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The move targeted a Gulf-based network that the Treasury said as of mid-2022 were blending and exporting Iranian oil. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions.

☆ EU examines classifying Iran Revolutionary Guards as terrorists - Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Germany and the European Union are examining whether to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday. "I made it clear last week that we will launch another package of sanctions, that we will examine how we can also list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation," Baerbock said in a interview with ARD broadcaster on Sunday. Her comments come after the head of the Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their already fierce crackdown on widespread unrest. Germany last week said it was tightening entry restrictions on Iran beyond an already announced EU sanctions package. Baebock also said there were currently no negotiations about the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West.

☆ Iranians appear to defy warning from powerful Guards with more protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Iran's Revolutionary Guards top commander warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, the harshest warning yet by Iranian authorities. Nevertheless, videos on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed confrontations between students and riot police and Basij forces in universities all over Iran. HISTORY OF CRACKDOWNSThe Guards and its affiliated Basij force have crushed dissent in the past. "So far, Basijis have shown restraint and they have been patient," the head of the Revolutionary Guards in the Khorasan Junubi province, Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mahdavi, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. A joint statement released by Iran’s intelligence ministry and the intelligence organisation of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday had accused Hamedi and Mohammadi of being CIA foreign agents.

☆ Iran protests flare again as U.N. voices concern at detainees' treatment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody last month. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in the violent crackdown on Sept. 30. The provincial security council has said armed dissidents had provoked the clashes, leading to innocent people's deaths, but admitted "shortcomings" by police. The U.N. human rights office on Friday voiced concern at Iran's treatment of detained protesters and said authorities refused to release some of the bodies of those killed. Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested across Iran.

☆ Iran's Guards warn cleric over 'agitating' in restive southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Molavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan's leading Sunni cleric, said during his Friday sermon that officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, head of the Shi'ite-dominated state, were "responsible before God" for the Sept. 30 killings. State media said at the time of the Sept. 30 violence that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire. The Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and the volunteer Basij militia were killed during the Sept. 30 violence. Abdolhamid, the Sunni cleric, described the Sept. 30 killing as a massacre, saying bullets had been fired at heads and chests. The activist news agency HRANA reported on Friday that 244 protesters had been killed in the countrywide unrest, including 32 minors.

"The Hezbollah leadership scrutinized the understanding line by line before agreeing to it," said one of the sources familiar with the group's thinking. Two Hezbollah lawmakers told Reuters the group was open to the idea of a deal as a pathway to alleviate some of Lebanon’s economic woes. At one point, Hezbollah conveyed its frustration at the slow pace of the talks to Hochstein via Ibrahim, the Western source said. A U.S. official told Reuters Hezbollah had nearly "killed the deal with their provocative rhetoric and actions threatening war". "Once the pipes are in the water, war becomes a long way away," said a source familiar with Hezbollah's thinking.

☆ Iranians keep up protests over Mahsa Amini death despite growing death toll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. Protests ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. Another video showed dozens of riot police deployed in a Tehran street where a fire was burning. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation said the death toll had increased to at least 201 civilians during the unrest, including 23 minors. Khamenei, a focus of protesters' anger, said the protests were designed by Iran's enemies, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

☆ At war for decades, Lebanon and Israel edge towards a rare deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view shows the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, Lebanon October 11, 2022. Some 100,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in Palestine during the war arrive in Lebanon as refugees. 1978Israel invades south Lebanon and sets up an occupation zone in an operation against Palestinian guerrillas. 1985Israel establishes an occupation zone in southern Lebanon, about 15 km (nine miles) deep, after it pulled back from a line further north, controlling the area with a proxy force, the South Lebanon Army. 2000Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, ending 22 years of occupation.

☆ Nine reported killed as Iran Revolutionary Guards target dissident sites in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smoke rises from the Iraqi Kurdistan headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards' strike on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ako RasheedDUBAI, SULAIMANIYA, Iraq Sept 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where an official said nine people were killed. A senior member of Komala, an exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition party, told Reuters that several of their offices were struck as well. The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's elite military and security force, said after the attacks that they would continue targeting what it called terrorists in the region. Protests erupted in Iran this month over the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

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